While his power is often compared to that of contemporary Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews’ swing was thought by many to be the purest ever seen in baseball. From 1952 to 1968 Eddie Mathews was the bane of every National League pitcher, his number “41” striking fear into every moundsman who had the misfortune to face him. Besides clubbing over 500 home runs in his career, Mathews was paired throughout most of his career with the other great National League home run hitter of the 1950s and 1960s, Hank Aaron. Together the two hit 863 home runs together, more than even Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig did during their time as teammates.

Besides Mathews frightening power with a bat in his hands, the Braves slugger was also the undefeated toughguy of the National League, always ready to back-up his teammates with his fists, especially during the vicious beanball wars with the Dodgers in the 1950s. On top of his batting and fighting prowess, Mathews is also the answer to the popular trivia question of “Who is the only player to appear with the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta?” as he began his career with Boston in 1952 and left the club a year after they moved to Atlanta.

Offered here is an incredible full uniform – jersey and pants from Mathews’ final season with the Braves organization in 1966. This was also the first season the team played in Atlanta, after relocating from Milwaukee. Mathews’ jersey has been photo matched to the final home series of the season by Sports Investors Authentication, making it the final home jersey of his storied career. This jersey was made by Wilson and is a size 42 and is a cream-colored home flannel with “Braves” and “41” sewn on the front in red and navy tackle twill. Navy piping runs around the collar and down both sides of the buttons. The Wilson size 42 tag with wash instructions is sewn on the bottom front left tail. The inside back collar has a matching flannel cream-colored patch that has embroidered in black “Mathews 66 – Set 1”. The back has Mathews’ number “41” sewn on in red and navy tackle twill with the Braves’ logo embroidered on a patch on the left sleeve. The jersey displays moderate use with some minor team repairs and loose stitching on the numbers on back.

The match cream-colored flannel pants were also manufactured by Wilson and have a waist size 36. Navy piping runs down the outside of each leg and the pants have zipper front with a single button closure. The inner waist lining has the Wilson size 36 tag that also includes the wash instructions, along with a cream-colored flannel patch that has “Mathews 23-66-set 1” embroidered in black. These pants display moderate use with some flaking on the inner waist lining and soil stains on the belt loops. A wonderful late-career uniform set from one of the National League’s premier power hitters. This uniform comes with a LOA from Judy Mathews, authenticating the jersey and pants were worn by Eddie Mathews in 1966. Please note that her LOA also mentions a “1952 Rookie Boston Braves cap” that is not included in this lot. This also comes with a LOA from Sports Investors Authentication for the game use and have photo matched the jersey to the final home series of the season.

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